Canada
Inuvik
A town above the Arctic Circle with an igloo-shaped church and 56 days of midnight sun.
At 2am on June 21st in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, the sun hangs above the horizon as if nailed there. It won't set for another 35 days. Locals are grilling in their gardens, children are cycling, and the golf course is full.
Inuvik sits above the Arctic Circle at the end of the Dempster Highway — Canada's only public road to the Arctic. The town's most recognisable landmark is Our Lady of Victory, the Igloo Church, shaped like an actual igloo and painted white against the treeless skyline. The midnight sun lasts 56 consecutive days from June to July, and the town embraces it with an energy that belies its population of 3,200. The Great Northern Arts Festival each July brings Inuvialuit, Gwich'in, and southern Canadian artists together for a ten-day celebration of northern creativity. In winter, the polar night descends for 30 days, and the Northern Lights take over the sky.
Solo
Reaching Inuvik by driving the Dempster Highway is one of Canada's great solo road trips — 700 kilometres of gravel, two river ferries, and the Arctic Circle crossed under midnight sun.
- The Igloo Church (Our Lady of Victory) is shaped like an actual igloo — white and domed against the Arctic skyline.
- The midnight sun doesn't set for 56 consecutive days from June to July — locals play golf and barbecue at 3am.
- The Dempster Highway ends here — Canada's only road connection to the Arctic Ocean terminates in this town.
- The Great Northern Arts Festival brings Inuvialuit, Gwich'in, and southern artists together each July in a ten-day cultural gathering.
Muskox burgers at the Mackenzie Hotel — the meat rich and lean, unlike anything farther south.
Arctic char smoked by Gwich'in families — the traditional method passed down through centuries.
Bannock tacos at the community barbecue during the Great Northern Arts Festival.
Pella
South Africa
A full stone cathedral rises from Bushmanland desert — built by missionaries who refused the emptiness.
Tayma
Saudi Arabia
An oasis inhabited for six thousand years whose ancient stele now stands in the Louvre.
Iringa
Tanzania
Stone Age hand axes litter a gorge outside this windswept hilltop town on the road south.
Lipcani
Moldova
Crumbling synagogues and overgrown Jewish cemeteries testify to a vibrant world erased overnight.
Pangnirtung
Canada
An Inuit hamlet at the mouth of a fjord where printmakers create Arctic art known worldwide.
Baker Lake
Canada
The geographic centre of Canada is an Inuit hamlet where throat singers perform under midnight sun.
Herschel Island
Canada
An Arctic whaling station collapsing into the thawing permafrost of the Beaufort Sea.
Wood Buffalo National Park
Canada
Canada's largest park — bigger than Switzerland — where the only wild whooping cranes nest.